Born in 1917 he joined 2/JG-54 in October 1940, but after being injured in a crash it wasn't until 1941 that he achieved his first victory. A brief time as a fighter Instructor in 1943 he returned to the Russian Front and his score soon started to mount, By May 1944 he had over 100 victories. August 1944 saw his appointment as Staffelkapitan of 3/JG-54. In March 1945 he transferred to JG-7 flying Me262 Jet. By the end of the war he had flown 700 combat missions and had 146 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross. Fritz Tegtmeier died on 8th April 1999 aged 81.

Fighter general shows Dolfo Galland leading a schwarm of BF109s out low at tree top height over the Kent countryside after doing battle with spitfires, during the last week of August 1940. This remarkable pilot was awarded the Knights Cross as a Majo......

Fighter general shows Dolfo Galland leading a schwarm of BF109s out low at tree top height over the Kent countryside after doing battle with spitfires, during the last week of August 1940. This remarkable pilot was awarded the Knights Cross as a Maj......

Messerschmitt Me262s of JG7 race back to their base at Brandenburg after intercepting a USAAF bomber raid on Munich, and Luftwaffe air bases in the area. Below them a B-26 has crash-landed in the fields still covered with a sprinkling of late winter......

Messerschmitt Me262s of JG7 race back to their base at Brandenburg after intercepting a USAAF bomber raid on Munich, and Luftwaffe air bases in the area. Below them a B-26 has crash-landed in the fields still covered with a sprinkling of late winter......

Messerschmitt Me262s of JG7 race back to their base at Brandenburg after intercepting a USAAF bomber raid on Munich, and Luftwaffe air bases in the area. Below them a B-26 has crash-landed in the fields still covered with a sprinkling of late winter......

Riga, Latvia, 30th June 1944. Recently promoted Leutnant Otto Bruno Kittel. of 3 Staffel, JG54, chases his quarry at treetop level during a late evening sortie. The downing of this flying tank brought his tally on this day to 4, a Yak, a P3......

Zhitomir, Russia, February 1943. On 6th January 1943, Gefreiter Hugo Broch was posted to II./JG54 on the eastern front, and assigned to 6./JG54. His first combat experiences were as Kaczmarek (wingman) to Horst Adameit (166 victories) and Heinrich......

Zhitomir, Russia, February 1943. On 6th January 1943, Gefreiter Hugo Broch was posted to II./JG54 on the eastern front, and assigned to 6./JG54. His first combat experiences were as Kaczmarek (wingman) to Horst Adameit (166 victories) and Heinrich ......

Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Leutnant Fritz Tegtmeier (deceased)

At the Setting of the Sun by Simon Atack.Close Encounter by Ivan Berryman. (H)In Them We Trust by Ivan Berryman. (F)Fighter General by Graeme Lothian.Hurricane Mk.IIC by Ivan Berryman. (F)Where Thoroughbreds Play by Ivan Berryman.

I./JG 54 was initially formed as I./JG 70 near Nuremberg in July 1939, just two short months before hostilities broke out. As was to become tradition within Grunherzgeschwader, the Gruppe took the Nurember coat-of-arms (a veritcally divided shield with a black heraldic bird on the left, and red and white diagonal stripes on the right) to represent the region the unit came from.

On September 15, 1939, I./JG 70 was redesignated I./JG 54

The initial unit designation for II./JG 54 was I./JG 138. This unit was raised in 1938 after the Austrian annexation. Naturally many Austrian nationals were recruited when I./JG 138 was formed. The Aspern coat of arms (black lion's head surmounting a white cross on a red field) was taken by the Gruppe for its identity.

The III./JG 54 has its roots in Prussia. Initially I./JG 21, the members were drawn from the Jesau region in Prussia. The modified Jesau coat-of-arms (a shield with a Jesau cross with three diving aircraft on a red background, with a white outline on the shield) was adopted as the Gruppe's own.

On July 15, 1939, I./JG 21 was redesignated III./JG 54. However, the bureaucratic nature of the young Luftwaffe was such that it was over a year before records would reflect the new designation. Consequently, III./JG 54 fought in Poland and France as I./JG 21.

Nowotny was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II and the first operational jet fighter wing in the world.

It was created late in 1944 and served until the end of the war in May 1945, and it operated the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter exclusively.

JG 7 was formed under the command of Oberst Johannes Steinhoff, with Kommando Nowotny (the initial Me 262 test wing ) renumbered III./JG 7. Under the command of Major Erich Hohagen III./JG 7 was the only element of JG 7 ready to operate against the Allies. Throughout its existence JG 7 suffered from an irregular supply of new aircraft, fuel and spares. With such a radically new aircraft, training accidents were also common, with 10 Me 262s being lost in six weeks.

The technical troubles and material shortages meant initial tentative sorties were only in flight strength, usually no more than 4 or 6 aircraft. Flying from Brandenburg-Briest, Oranienburg and Parchim, the Geschwader flew intermittently against the huge USAAF bomber streams.

By the end of February 1945 JG 7 had claimed around 45 four-engine bombers and 15 fighters, but at this stage of war this success rate had no affect whatsoever on the Allied air offensive. During March JG 7 finally began to deliver larger scale attacks against the heavy bomber streams. 3 March saw 29 sorties for 8 kills claimed (one jet was lost). On 18 March III./JG 7 finally managed their biggest attack numerically thus far, some 37 Me 262s engaging a force of 1,200 American bombers and 600 fighters. This action also marked the first use of the new R4M rockets. 12 bombers and 1 fighter were claimed for the loss of 3 Me 262s.

The total numbers of aircraft shot down by JG 7 is difficult to quantify due to the loss of Luftwaffe records, but at least 136 aircraft were claimed, and research indicates as many as 420 Allied aircraft may have been claimed shot down.

Aircraft for : Leutnant Fritz Tegtmeier (deceased)

A list of all aircraft associated with Leutnant Fritz Tegtmeier (deceased). A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.

The Messerschmitt Me-262 Swallow, a masterpiece of engineering, was the first operational mass-produced jet to see service. Prototype testing of the airframe commenced in 1941 utilizing a piston engine. General Adolf Galland, who was in charge of the German Fighter Forces at that time, pressured both Goring and Hitler to accelerate the Me-262, and stress its use as a fighter to defend Germany from Allied bombers. Hitler, however, envisioned the 262 as the aircraft which might allow him to inflict punishment on Britain. About 1400 Swallows were produced, but fortunately for the Allies, only about 300 saw combat duty. While the original plans for the 262 presumed the use of BMW jet engines, production Swallows were ultimately equipped with Jumo 004B turbojet engines. The wing design of the 262 necessitated the unique triangular hull section of the fuselage, giving the aircraft a shark-like appearance. With an 18 degree swept wing, the 262 was capable of Mach .86. The 262 was totally ineffective in a turning duel with Allied fighters, and was also vulnerable to attack during take off and landings. The landing gear was also suspect, and many 262s were destroyed or damaged due to landing gear failure. Despite its sleek jet-age appearance, the 262 was roughly manufactured, because Germany had lost access to its normal aircraft assembly plants. In spite of these drawbacks the 262 was effective. For example, on April 7, 1945 a force of sixty 262s took on a large force of Allied bombers with escort fighters. Armed with their four nose-mounted cannons, and underwing rockets the Swallows succeeded in downing or damaging 25 Allied B-17s on that single mission. While it is unlikely that the outcome of the War could have been altered by an earlier introduction or greater production totals for this aircraft, it is clear to many historians that the duration of the War might have been drastically lengthened if the Me-262 had not been too little too late.